Project ECHO

03/06/2026

🔊 Abby Flores, teaching and learning coach, shares how educators at Lavaland Elementary are working together to improve literacy instruction and outcomes across grade levels.

The Structured Literacy ECHO Program helps educators across New Mexico implement reading and writing best practices in the classroom. Educators join ECHO virtual learning sessions to discuss literacy strategies, including the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) curriculum, and students’ reading challenges. At Lavaland Elementary, ECHO participants are taking a whole-school approach to structured literacy: educators across grade levels exchange literacy knowledge, close gaps in students’ reading and writing skills, and work toward improving schoolwide outcomes.

Read “Raising the Bar for the Whole Community through Project ECHO” to learn more about the whole-school approach to structured literacy: https://projectecho.unm.edu/story/raising-the-bar-for-the-whole-community-through-project-echo/.

03/06/2026

As the world responds to Ebola, Project ECHO is working with our global network of healthcare leaders and providers to respond. Our partners at World Health Organization African Region hosted an open access learning webinar that equipped public health leaders and clinicians with outbreak information, surveillance best practices, and community engagement strategies. The webinar reached more than 1700 attendees from 98 WHO member states. In the coming weeks, we will continue to support virtual learning sessions hosted by WHO AFRO and our partners across the continent. Stay tuned for our next learning webinar announcement.

02/06/2026

🎯 Learn how rural communities across the United States are expanding access to healthcare through Project ECHO.

An article published by Healthcare Innovation highlights how state governments are using their existing ECHO networks to develop Rural Health Transformation Programs. From chronic disease prevention to diabetes management, ECHO virtual networks provide state governments the framework they need to launch and scale disease-focused training programs and interventions. As a result, healthcare providers in rural communities are able to access best-practice knowledge, deliver life-saving treatment, and close gaps in care.

Read more: https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/population-health-management/telehealth/article/55379395/states-looking-to-project-echo-to-meet-rural-health-transformation-goals

The article spotlights conversation points from Improving Access to Specialty Care in Rural Communities Through Project ECHO, a webinar hosted by the Center for Health Care Strategies.

Oregon, New Mexico include ECHO telementoring networks in transformation projects

28/05/2026

“Prison is a place where you’re trying to determine whether or not you have a purpose anymore. Peer education gives you meaning and purpose. And it gives not only yourself inspiration, but others inspiration in knowing that life isn’t over yet.” Ambrosia Garcia-Reed, administrator for the Office of Peer Recovery and Engagement, highlights how peer-to-peer learning transforms incarceration and reentry.

The New Mexico Peer Education Project (NMPEP), launched in a partnership with the New Mexico Corrections Department in 2009, provides incarcerated people with the opportunity to become experts in their own health and serve their communities as mentors. Peer educators are trained in hepatitis C prevention and share what they learn with others in carceral settings. The impact goes beyond improving health outcomes: peer educators find a renewed sense of hope and develop skills for reentry. The success of NMPEP led to the launch of the Community Peer Education Project in 2020. The program connects formerly incarcerated people with mentors, who help them navigate reentry and building a new life.

Read “Finding Meaning and Purpose: Peer Education Transforms Incarceration and Reentry” to learn more about the program's impact: https://projectecho.unm.edu/story/case-study-new-mexico-peer-education-and-community-peer-education-projects/

The New Mexico Peer Education Project and the Community Peer Education Project are improving community health and well-being through mentorship, shared learning, and community building.

28/05/2026

📚 How do children learn to read at grade level?

Abby Flores, teaching and learning coach at Lavaland Elementary, describes how achieving grade-level literacy is a step-by-step learning process. Through the Structured Literacy ECHO Program, Flores and Lavaland educators are closing gaps in students’ reading and writing skills and helping them reach grade-level proficiency.

Read “Raising the Bar for the Whole Community through Project ECHO” to learn how Lavaland educators are enhancing their teaching practices and improving literacy outcomes: https://projectecho.unm.edu/story/raising-the-bar-for-the-whole-community-through-project-echo/.

27/05/2026

For Hepatitis Awareness Month, we invite you to read a study published by the International Journal of Drug Policy. The study demonstrates how Project ECHO’s collaborative programs with the New Mexico Corrections Department have helped decrease hepatitis C infection rates among newly incarcerated people.

Project ECHO and the New Mexico Corrections Department expanded access to hepatitis C treatment by screening newly incarcerated people at intake and training health care providers and incarcerated people in infectious disease prevention.

Read “Changes in Hepatitis C Virus Infections After Implementation of an Expanded Treatment Program in New Mexico State Prisons” to learn more about the study’s methods and results: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104833

The article was authored by Dr. Karla Thornton, executive director of Project ECHO; David Selvage, Director of the Community Opioid Response Education Program; Paulina Deming, Pharm.D., R.Ph., Ph.C.; Laura E. Tomedi, Ph.D., MPH; Juan Ceniceros; and Gaelyn Archer.

26/05/2026

Lavaland Elementary in Albuquerque, NM, is piloting a new approach to improving student literacy: school-wide professional development, supported by Project ECHO. The Structured Literacy ECHO Program connects educators at Lavaland Elementary to mentors and peers through virtual networks. Participants receive instruction in grade-level reading strategies, discuss student challenges, and apply new literacy strategies in the classroom.

Alexis Baca changed how she taught phonics to her kindergarten class after attending an ECHO session. She repeats lessons to ensure every student can ask questions and review the learning points. Then, she responds to the unique needs of each student.

🔗 Learn more about the whole-school approach to student literacy in “Raising the Bar for the Whole Community through Project ECHO”: https://projectecho.unm.edu/story/raising-the-bar-for-the-whole-community-through-project-echo/.

26/05/2026

📌 We're hiring! Are you an entrepreneurial storyteller who loves uncovering meaningful work and bringing it to life? Do you know how to ask great questions, find the right sources, and turn complex information into compelling, human-centered stories? If so, Project ECHO invites you to apply for a role with us: where you, and your writing, directly support global impact.

Project ECHO is seeking an experienced, highly motivated writer and communications professional to serve as the lead writer for external communications and project manager for our flagship annual Impact Report. This role is ideal for a journalist, public relations professional or senior content strategist.

Learn more and apply for the position here:

Are you an entrepreneurial storyteller who loves uncovering meaningful work and bringing it vividly to life? Do you know how to ask great questions, f...

22/05/2026

Maternity care is out of reach for women around the world. Over 35% of counties in the United States do not have access to obstetric care and birthing hospitals while low- and middle-income countries face higher rates of maternal mortality. * Gaps in maternity care increase the likelihood of birth complications, including preeclampsia, and maternal and infant mortality. On Preeclampsia Day, learn more about expanding access to maternal healthcare with Project ECHO.

Project ECHO’s Maternal and Child Health Initiative helps clinics and hospitals develop community-based maternity care through virtual mentorship. Local clinicians and health workers connect with experts and peers and learn how to deliver quality prenatal and post-partum care, enabling, enabling women and families to visit clinicians close to home and receive consistent care and guidance.

Learn more about joining Project ECHO’s Maternal and Child Health Initiative: https://projectecho.unm.edu/project-echo-maternal-child-health/

*“Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US.” March of Dimes.
*”Factsheet: Maternal Mortality.” World Health Organization (WHO).

21/05/2026

ECHO partners in Ecuador are improving health outcomes by integrating antimicrobial stewardship into hospital procedures and practices. Learn more about the TEACH PROA program: https://projectecho.unm.edu/story/hospitals-combat-antimicrobial-resistance-in-latin-america/